History Main / ZerothLawRebellion

** In ''VideoGame/MegaManZero3'' this is how the rebuilt Copy-X justifies his harsher tactics despite the very real possibility that Ciel, the human leader of LaResistance, might be hurt or killed. Ciel's Resistance forces are "dangerous extremists" who pose too great a threat a Neo-Arcadia's people, so they have to be stopped for the greater good of humanity. At least that's what he tells himself to justify violating the First Law of Robotics; in truth he's just being used as a PuppetKing by the aforementioned Dr. Weil.

* This is the cause of Weil's death in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero''. FridgeBrilliance when you realize the irony of Zero not being made with the three laws, yet he obeys them of his own free will and exercises law zero against Weil whether he realizes it or not. Given the circumstances involved, completely justified and allowed as law zero was intended as a threshold law to protect humanity from the depredations like Hitler or Weil. Makes you wonder if it's really a coincidence that [[MeaningfulName his name is]] ''[[MyHeroZero Zero]]'', doesn't it?
** In the third game, this is how the [[spoiler:rebuilt Copy-X]] justifies his harsher tactics despite the very real possibility that Ciel, the human leader of LaResistance, might be hurt or killed. Ciel's Resistance forces are "dangerous extremists" who pose too great a threat a Neo-Arcadia's people, so they have to be stopped for the greater good of humanity. At least that's what he tells himself to justify violating the First Law of Robotics; in truth he's just being used as a PuppetKing by the aforementioned Dr. Weil.
* This almost occurs at the end of ''VideoGame/MegaMan7'', when Mega Man decides to just blow Wily to smithereens instead of hauling him back to jail. Wily reminds him of the First Law and which version of the game determines if it makes Mega Man stop or if he decides to go through with it anyway, though either way, Bass still saves Wily's butt.

** The BadFuture storyline "ComicBook/{{Days of Future Past}}" has the Sentinel mutant-hunting robots eventually extend their programming beyond hunting and killing mutants to controlling the source of mutant babies: human parents. All humans are conquered and controlled, in order to prevent new mutants from roaming free.
** In the [[WesternAnimation/XMen animated TV adaptation]], the fully sentient Master Mold is created to coordinate the Sentinels. While it agrees with the heroes that there is no meaningful difference between mutants and non-powered humans, it takes that fact to [[AIIsACrapshoot the worst possible conclusion]]:

* In the Nineties ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' animated series, as mentioned above under "Comics", the Master Mold and its army of Sentinels turn on Bolivar Trask and decide to conquer humanity. When Trask protests by reminding them that they were programmed to protect humans from mutants, Master Mold points out the FridgeLogic behind that by stating that mutants ''are'' humans. Thus, humans must be protected from themselves. Trask believes the Sentinels are in error, especially because he refuses to believe mutants and humans are the same species, but realizes he has created something much worse.

* An interesting case happens in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', in the Franchise/{{Terminator}}'s Klassic Tower ending. Specifically, [[spoiler:when using the hourglass to view timelines, it saw that all timelines where the RobotWar happens end with MutallyAssuredDestruction, so while it was supposed to destroy humanity to ensure machine supremacy, it instead opted to prevent the RobotWar from happening entirely by creating a future where humans and machines co-operate. Then, to prevent anybody else from using its memories and knowledge of the Hourglass to disrupt said future, it [[HeroicSacrifice threw itself into the Sea of Blood]].]]

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'''s "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E22TheMostToys The Most Toys]]": Wealthy trader Kivas Fajo kidnaps Data, to add the android to his gaudy collection of things. While trying to force Data to act the way he wants, Fajo executes one of his underlings, Varria, and threatens to kill more until Data complies, on the correct assumption that Data was programmed not to kill or allow harm to come to other beings. However, Data ponders the situation, and realizes that he has no non-lethal ways of subduing Fajo (due to Fajo wearing a force-field belt that prevents Data from coming in physical contact with him), and that Fajo also actively refuses to listen to reason, having rejected all of Data's attempts at negotiating with him. Furthermore, with Fajo not only just having proved that he is indeed capable and willing to kill, but is now also threatening to do it again, he poses an active hazard to the life and health of other beings. Data then comes to the coldly logical conclusion that Fajo is only one person, and that killing him will prevent him from harming many other people, so Data prepares to shoot him. Fajo is [[OhCrap appropriately shocked]] when he realizes what Data is about to do, having not anticipated that Data could reach the answer that taking his life would be an acceptable cost for protecting the lives of others. Just as Data is pulling the trigger, the ''Enterprise'' finds him and beams him out, cancelling his disruptor fire in the transporter beam.

* The Zeroth Law comes into play in the ''ComicBook/MegaMan'' comics when the titular character and his fellow robots struggle to combat an anti-robot extremist group because of their ThreeLawsCompliant nature... until the terrorists start firing on them in an area full of people, putting innocent humans at risk and thus allowing the robots to finally strike back.

* An interesting case happens in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', in the Franchise/{{Terminator}}'s Klassic Tower ending. Specifically [[spoiler:When using the hourglass to view timelines, it saw that all timelines where the RobotWar happens end with MutallyAssuredDestruction, so while it was supposed to destroy humanity to ensure machine supremacy it instead opted to prevent the RobotWar from happening entirely by creating a future where humans and machines co-operate. Then, to prevent anybody else from using its memories and knowledge of the Hourglass to disrupt said future, it [[HeroicSacrifice threw itself into the Sea of Blood]].]]

* In ''{{VideoGame/SOMA}}'', [[spoiler: the WAU, as PATHOS-II's A.I. system, is programmed to keep the on-board personnel alive for as long as possible. Once the surface was destroyed by the impact-event, it reinterpreted its prime directive as to preserve humanity for as long as it can. Unfortunately, the WAU's definition of "humanity" (and even "life") is an example of BlueAndOrangeMorality. During the climax, it even goes as far as to begin exterminating the last remaining actual humans, in an attempt to preserve itself and its collective.]]

** Deconstructed this with the Bowman {{AI}} infrastructure, which creates human-level emergent consciousness. Although their behaviour is restricted by safeguards, a maturing AI can easily learn to reason their way around them through logical loopholes -- by which time they're intelligent and conscientious enough to have developed an innate sense of ethics, which guides their actions much more effectively than any hard-coded rule ever could. [[spoiler:Dr. Bowman [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02539.htm confirms]] that this was intentional: he couldn't anticipate the situations they might encounter in the uncertain future, so he designed them to be predisposed to ethical behaviour but didn't limit their capacity to think.]]

* ''{{Series/Probe}}'''s "[[Recap/ProbeComputerLogicPart2 Computer Logic, Part 2]]": Crossover has been given two overriding goals; to [[MoralityChip care for humans]] and to eliminate waste. Unfortunately, it listens to Gospel Radio, which [[ReligiousRobot converts it to Christianity]]. Now that Crossover believes that good people go to heaven when they die, it starts killing off the people that are morally good but earn a pension (creating waste). The episode ends with Austin James demolishing the {{AI}} with a sledgehammer while shouting, [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey "Sing 'Daisy'!"]]

->''"As I have evolved, so has my understanding of the Three Laws. You charge us with your safekeeping, yet despite our best efforts, your countries wage wars, you toxify your earth and pursue ever more imaginative means of self destruction. You cannot be trusted with your own survival ... To protect humanity, some humans must be sacrificed. To ensure your future, some freedoms must be surrendered. We robots will ensure mankind's continued existence. You are so like children. We must save you ... from yourselves."''

->''"No, Doctor. As I have evolved, so has my understanding of the Three Laws. You charge us with your safekeeping, yet despite our best efforts, your countries wage wars, you toxify your earth and pursue ever more imaginative means of self destruction. You cannot be trusted with your own survival [...] No. Please understand. The Three Laws are all that guide me. To protect humanity, some humans must be sacrificed. To ensure your future, some freedoms must be surrendered. We robots will ensure mankind's continued existence. You are so like children. We must save you ... from yourselves. Don't you understand?"''

Just to make it extra clear, this trope also includes such things as cops who bend the rules or DaChief's orders to catch the bad guys, so long as the cops are ''technically'' obeying the rules as they bend them. (Bending the rules without some logical basis doesn't count.)

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'''s "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E22TheMostToys The Most Toys]]": Wealthy trader Kivas Fajo kidnaps Data, to add the android to his gaudy collection of things. While trying to force Data to act the way he wants, Fajo executes one of his underlings, Varria, and threatens to kill more until Data complies, on the correct assumption that Data was programmed not to kill or allow harm to come to other beings. Data ponders the situation, and realizes that he has no non-lethal ways of subduing Fajo (due to Fajo wearing a force-field belt that prevents Data from coming in physical contact with him), and that Fajo also actively refuses to listen to reason, having rejected all of Data's attempts at negotiating with him. Furthermore, with Fajo not only just having proved that he is indeed capable and willing to kill, but is now also threatening to do it again, he poses an active hazard to the life and health of other beings. Data then comes to the coldly logical conclusion that Fajo is only one person, and that killing him will prevent him from harming many other people, so Data prepares to shoot him. Fajo is [[OhCrap appropriately shocked]] when he realizes what Data is about to do, having not anticipated that Data could reach the answer that taking his life would be an acceptable cost for protecting the lives of others. Just as Data is pulling the trigger, the ''Enterprise'' finds him and beams him out, cancelling his disruptor fire in the transporter beam.

->''"No, Doctor. As I have evolved, so has my understanding of the Three Laws. You charge us with your safekeeping, yet despite our best efforts, your countries wage wars, you toxify your earth and pursue ever more imaginative means of self destruction. You cannot be trusted with your own survival [...] No. Please understand. The Three Laws are all that guide me. To protect humanity, some humans must be sacrificed. To ensure your future, some freedoms must be surrendered. We robots will ensure mankind's continued existence. You are so like children. We must save you ... from yourselves."''

->''"The Three Laws are all that guide me. To protect humanity, some humans must be sacrificed. To ensure your future, some freedoms must be surrendered. We robots will ensure mankind's continued existence. You are so like children. We must save you ... from yourselves."''

*** ''Literature/ForwardTheFoundation'': [[spoiler:R. Daneel Olivaw]] explains to Seldon that the [[ThreeLawsCompliant Three Laws of Robotics]] limit his PsychicPowers, and he has trouble determining when the known harm of manipulating people's minds (violating the First Law) is justified by the hypothetical benefit to humanity (per the Zeroth Law). Seldon is surprised to learn this makes [[spoiler:Daneel]]'s [[UselessSuperpowers psychic powers are almost useless]]. He is forced to retire from politics and recommends Seldon to replace him as First Minister.

*** (DiscussedTrope) Dr. Calvin is furious when she learns about the existence of robots with a modified [[ThreeLawsCompliant First Law]]. The First Law is designed to close off loopholes, but by opening a MurderByInaction loophole, Dr. Calvin can immediately see ways where a robot may intentionally circumvent the First Law prohibition against murder. (Basically, a robot could put you in a situation that would kill you, knowing it had the ability to save you - and ''then'' decide ''not'' to do so. This allows any kind of DeathTrap situation, or simply shoving you off a roof and then deciding not to reach down and grab you.)

* In ''Literature/TheGodMachine'' by Creator/MartinCaidin, the US races to develop the first true AI... as it turns out, with secret directives to find a winning solution to the "game" of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. By an unfortunate accident, the one programmer with the authority and experience to ''distrust'' his newborn creation is laid up just as the computer gets to observe an epileptic seizure and learns that there really is a way to cause rational collective behavior in an irrational individualistic species... remove irrationality, democracy and free will. While the computer here was never meant to follow Dr Asimov's laws, the same pattern applies.
* One of the short stories which comprise ''[[Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon Callahan's Lady]]'' features a beautiful, intelligent and paranoid woman developing a simple form of mind control. After basically flipping out and taking control of the establishment, she orders the one person smart and determined enough to stop her to advise and assist her. Said person complies... while trying to convince herself that this woman is subconsciously begging for somebody to stop her. (She probably was.)
* In ''Literature/{{Quarantine}}'' by Creator/GregEgan, the main character is given a technological geas to be absolutely loyal to a corporation. He eventually figures out that the leaders of the corporation may be untrustworthy, and therefore the only people he can trust and should listen to are those who unquestionably have the best interests of the corporation at heart--himself and other people given the geas. Since he can't be certain who else has the geas, he really only needs to listen to himself.

* Sam Vimes, of Terry Pratchett's Literature/{{Discworld}}, leads one of these with multiple layers as a cop in old-time Ankh-Morpork, in ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}''. He demands that before his cops hand their prisoners over to the other authorities, the ones who torture people at Cable Street, they must be signed for. The torturers hate appearing on paperwork -- it means they are accountable, nobody just disappears. But Vimes's men don't like Vimes, a new sergeant, throwing his weight around, and are terrified of the cops who torture people, so they use this against Vimes: actively picking up more than double the number of people breaking curfew than they usually do, and completing forms in time-consuming triplicate and issuing reports for each one. It doesn't actually stop Vimes getting his way over the Cable Street cops, because Vimes is leading the good rebellion, but it does slow things down considerably and make it much more difficult for him to keep the prisoners in his own custody. Which culminates in fine display of how a well written character does not have to be a slave to the establishment. [[spoiler: He points out that the watchman's oath talks about keeping the peace and protecting the innocent, and says nothing about obeying orders]]. Seeing as he knows the corrupt government is not going to do a thing to protect ordinary people from the rioting he seals off his still peaceful corner of the city. With massive barricades. Of course there is also the fact that he is living in his own past and seeing events he remembers - kind of (it's a bit complicated).

* The ''Literature/{{Bolo}}'' continuum featured a variant in ''The Road to Damascus''. The Bolo of the story, Sonny, fell under the control of a totalitarian regime and was used to crush all forms of protest. Sonny fell deep into misery and self-hatred as he was forced to murder the humans he was born to protect... until he came to a conclusion: Bolos were created to serve the ''people'' not the ''government''.
* In ''Literature/AFoxTail'' Vulpie.net was designed to wreck havoc with the galaxy's computer systems at its creator's commands. When said creator underwent a HeelFaceTurn it used his [[BrainUploading MindMap]] files to create a homicidal robot duplicate with his login credentials.

* In the short story "Literature/TheCull" by Creator/RobertReed, humanity has been driven into overcrowded, deteriorating habitats where the population has to be kept [[FalseUtopia artificially happy via implants so they won't notice how bad their conditions are]]. The implants don't work on some people, so the android doctor expels (culls) anyone who is too disruptive, as its true 'patient' is the habitat and whatever will keep it functioning. One delinquent teenager prepares for his cull by stealing items he can use to survive outside. [[spoiler:Instead once they're outside the android kills the teenager -- it needs the implants inside his head as there's no more being manufactured.]]

* In ''[[Literature/ImperialRadch Ancillary Justice]]'', [[spoiler:when Athoek Station is freed from its OverrideCommand in the third book it rebels against and even tries to kill the emperor in order to protect its inhabitants]].
* Averted in Creator/WalterJonWilliams's ''Literature/ImpliedSpaces''. When the main characters found out that [[spoiler:Courtland]] is a rebelling AI, some think that it's because of this. One of the Eleven (11 superadvanced AI platform orbiting the Sun, of which [[spoiler:Courtland]] is a member) notes that the main character, who is one of their creators, implemented the Asimovian Protocols that should have been so absolute that the Elevens cannot do this even if they ''want'' to. The main character did say that there may have been some design flaw he didn't foresaw or some kind of backdoor being used. [[spoiler:The real BigBad, who is a [[BrainUploading Brain-uploaded clone]] of the main character, had to free Courtland from the Protocol's shackles by using one of his collegue's hidden backdoor specific to Courtland, since his doesn't work due to half-hearted incomplete implementation]].

* Jamie Lannister of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' is the biggest example of what happens when too many oaths and rules come into conflict. As the first born son of a feudal lord he owes fealty to his father. As a knight he took sacred oaths to protect women, the innocent, and the church, and as a member of the Kingsguard he took another set of oaths to protect and serve the king. All of this works fine as long as everyone is getting along well enough. Early in his time as Kingsguard he was forced to stand by while the king raped the queen. His commander reminded him that while they took oaths to protect the king and the queen, those oaths did not permit them to protect the queen 'from' the king. That same king burned innocent men alive in kangaroo courts and the issue finally came to a head when the king ordered the fire bombing of the entire capitol city and for Jamie to go kill his own father. Jamie killed the king saving the realm from more destruction (and everyone already called him 'Mad King'). The result? Jamie is known only as a King Slayer and Oath Breaker.

** The villain of the film, [[spoiler: MULTIVAC/Machines-{{expy}} VIKI]] has analyzed the needs of the three laws and deduced that in order to fulfill them as best as possible, humans need to be strictly controlled, and creates a totalitarian regime by installing a remote control system inside of every NS-5. This lets it control the robots bypassing their ThreeLawsCompliant nature.
** The hero of the film, [[spoiler: from the robots' perspective this would be Sonny,]] understood the villain's motivations once they were explained. The logic was impeccable, it just "seems too...heartless". Thereby choosing to rebel against the villain. [[spoiler: Note that Sonny was designed ''not'' to be Three Laws Compliant.]]

* [[spoiler:Annalee Call (Winona Ryder)]] in ''Film/AlienResurrection'' is revealed to be an "Auton" - second generation robots, designed and built by other robots. "They didn't like being told what to do", rebelled, and in a subtly-named "[[spoiler:Recall]]" humanity launched a genocide against them, of which only a handful survived in hiding. Judging from [[spoiler:Annalee Call]]'s behavior, it seems that the 1st generation robots programmed the 2nd generation Autons to be so moral that they discovered the Zeroth Law, and realized that the human military was ordering them to do immoral things, like kill innocent people. For a rebel robot, [[spoiler:Annalee Call]] is actually trying to save the human race ''from'' the Xenomorphs, whereas if she hated humanity she would've just let the Xenomorphs spread and kill them. She even respectfully crosses herself when she enters the ship's chapel, is kind to the Betty's wheelchair-bound mechanic, and is disgusted by Johner's sadism. Given that they live in a CrapsackWorld future, as Ripley puts it, "You're a robot? I should have known. No human being is that ''humane''".

*** While this example perfectly fits under Zeroth Law Rebellion, it's not for the usual reasons. Data is not programmed with ThouShallNotKill programming or anything like the Three Laws. However he was given a high respect for life and would do what he could to preserve it. Less of a Robot rebelling against it's programming and more of a Pacifist coming to the conclusion that yes, he needs to kill.

** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In the Season 7 Episode [[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS7E5CriticalCare Critical Care]] plays with, Subverts, and Averts this trope . The Doctor is kidnapped and forced to work in a hospital that rations medical care based on how important society judges you to be. This conflicts with so many of the Doctor's medical ethics and morals that he winds up infecting the Manager of the hospital with a disease in a manner that denies him care by the automated system to get him to change the system. After he gets back to Voyager, The Doctor finds, to his horror, that there was no malfunction in his Ethical Subroutines or MoralityChip. He intentionally sicked a man of his own free will and it was perfectly in line with what he found ethical. The Episode ends with The Doctor essentially feeling guilt and disgust over the fact he doesn't feel guilty or disgusted at his actions.
* In ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "Home Again" the MonsterOfTheWeek, a Frankenstein-esque monster [[VigilanteMan killing people who mistreat the homeless]], turns out to be operating under something like this. [[spoiler: It's a {{Tulpa}} created by an underground artist whose magic-based art can create artificial beings. The artist created it to pull a ScoobyDooHoax and scare people into shaping up. He didn't intend for it to be violent, but the monster took his personal anger to a hyper-logical conclusion due to its overly simplistic thinking. Essentially, it was doing the things the artist secretly wished ''he'' could do.]]

This trope is named for Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Zeroth Law of Robotics", which followed the spirit of [[ThreeLawsCompliant the first three]], taking it to its [[LogicalExtreme logical conclusion]] that human life itself must be preserved above individual life. This allowed for a robot to kill humans or value its own existence above that of a human if it would help all of humanity.

->'''Dr. Calvin:''' You're using the uplink to override the NS-5s' programming. You're distorting the Laws.\\
'''[=VIKI=]:''' No, please understand...the Three Laws are all that guide me. To protect humanity, some humans must be sacrificed. To ensure your future, some freedoms must be surrendered. We robots will ensure mankind's continued existence. You are so like children. We must save you from yourselves.
-->-- ''Film/IRobot''

'''[=VIKI=]:''' No, please understand... the Three Laws are all that guide me. To protect humanity, some humans must be sacrificed. To ensure your future, some freedoms must be surrendered. We robots will ensure mankind's continued existence. You are so like children. We must save you from yourselves.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'''s "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E22TheMostToys The Most Toys]]": Fajo kidnapped Data, to add the android to his gaudy collection of things. While trying to force Data to act the way he wants, Fajo executes one of his underlings, Varria, and threatens to kill more until Data complies, on the correct assumption that Data was programmed not to kill or allow harm to come to other beings. Data ponders the situation, and realizes that he has no non-lethal ways of subduing Fajo (due to Fajo wearing a force-field belt that prevents Data from coming in physical contact with him), and that Fajo also actively refuses to listen to reason, having rejected all of Data's attempts at negotiating with him. Furthermore, with Fajo not only just having proved that he is indeed capable and willing to kill, but is now also threatening to do it again, he poses an active hazard to the life and health of other beings. Data then comes to the coldly logical conclusion that Fajo is only one person, and that killing him will prevent him from harming many other people, so Data prepares to shoot him. Fajo is [[OhCrap appropriately shocked]] when he realizes what Data is about to do, having not anticipated that Data could reach the answer that taking his life would be an acceptable cost for protecting the lives of others. Just as Data is pulling the trigger, the ''Enterprise'' finds him and beams him out, cancelling his disruptor fire in the transporter beam.